STARKVILLE,
Miss. – The Mississippi State University Gameday Committee announced today
campus-wide parking and picnic plans that will be in effect for the 6:30 p.m.
Mississippi State–Auburn football game Thursday, Sept. 9.

“Even though we expect a large volume of visitors for this weekday game,
campus operations will continue throughout the day Thursday as we transition to
our second football game of the 2010 season,” said Jim Jones, chair of the
campus Gameday Committee.

“We are working closely with the gameday operations staff, and with the
cooperation and support of our campus community, we hope to ensure a smooth
transition to the game day atmosphere so many fans love at Mississippi State,”
Jones said.

“To
ensure adequate parking for large numbers of guests, we’re asking that those who
normally use MSU daytime parking vacate by 5 p.m. the lots that become
reserved-only for athletic events,” Jones added. Additionally,
the committee requests that all MSU vehicles parked in reserved lots be
relocated to farm lots, department compounds, or the gravel lot behind the
Industrial Education building.

To
help manage parking for the event, the committee has adopted the following
policies and procedures ONLY for the Thursday night game.

- Lot 34 (north end of Memorial Hall) will close Friday, Sept. 3 at 2 p.m.
and transition to reserved RV parking for the Memphis game (Sept. 4). It will remain closed through the following
week, when MSU plays Auburn (Sept. 9), and will reopen Monday, Sept. 13. Students affected by the closure will be
accommodated in the Palmeiro lot, Howell Engineering lot, and the Coliseum
lots. An additional shuttle stop will be
placed near the Palmeiro lot to help provide student transportation to the
center of campus.

- BS Hood will close Wednesday, Sept. 8, at approximately 8:30 a.m. and
remain closed until after the Sept. 9 game. Access to the Barnes and Noble
parking lot will be limited only via the Barr Avenue entrance.

-
Transition to gameday operations will begin Thursday at noon. Following usual gameday protocols, most
campus lots at that point will be reserved for gameday parking, with gameday
staff maintaining lots beginning at noon.
Those entering the lots after noon will need a reserved gameday parking
pass.

Faculty and staff members who normally park in one of these lots
may continue to park through the end of the normal workday, 5 p.m. However, those leaving after 12 p.m. or
arriving before 5 p.m. will not be able to to park without a gameday
reserved pass.

For those who must return to campus for an afternoon or evening
classes, parking will be available in Allen Hall East lot (lot 23). Once that
is filled, overflow parking will be directed to other non-reserved
lots.

“We do understand and appreciate the inconvenience,” Jones
said. “However, we are making every
attempt to ensure that parking is available for those whose work continues as
normal.”

Afternoon
and night class parking will be in the commuter lots along Hardy Road (south of
Morrill Road Lot) and Buckner Lane (adjacent to Blackjack Road). Once
these lots are filled, other non-reserved lots will be available.

In
addition, Jones said other parking and picnic rules for the Thursday night game
will include:

- The Junction and all other picnic/tailgate areas will open at 1:30 p.m.
(5 hours prior to kickoff).

- Stone Boulevard--from Bost to Bully Boulevard--will close at 3:30 p.m. (3
hours prior to the game) and remain closed until one hour after the game. Staff
and faculty leaving campus should use other campus exits.

- The
shuttle will cease its regular campus routes at 3 p.m. and begin gameday shuttle
operations at 3:30 p.m.